Unusual photo captures, Giant Crane Fly and White-lined Sphinx Moth, and some usual little brown and yellow birds.
Giant Crane Fly, Holorusia hespera. Even though it looks very much like a monstrous mosquito, it cannot bite humans and does not ingest blood of any kind, only plant nectar when it feeds at all, which it seldom does in its adult form. Despite what it may look like, this insect also has no stinger, and is utterly harmless to human beings. As a larva, it resembles a bare caterpillar. “Larvae occur in various habitats including marshes, springs, decaying wood, moist soil, leaf litter, fungi, vertebrate nests and vegetation. They usually feed on decaying plant matter and microbes associated with this, but some species instead feed on living plants, fungi or other invertebrates.” [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crane_fly] They have also mistakenly been thought to prey upon mosquitoes, earning them the name “Mosquito Hawk”, but this is strictly an urban myth.White-lined Sphinx Moth, Hyles lineata, colloquially known as Humming Bird Moth for its size and flight characteristics. Yellow Warbler, femaleLesser Goldfinch, femaleYellow Warbler, maleHouse Sparrow, maleHouse Finch, femalePacific Chorus FrogSpotted TowheeBlack-headed Grosbeak, femaleAnna’s Hummingbird, young male
